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The Home Office can impose entry
bans to individuals who have previously breached immigration law or used
deception in their applications for leave. Bans can last 1 year, 2 years, 5
years or 10 years.

Generally speaking, and except for some minor
exception, an individual will not be allowed to re-enter the UK during the
length of the ban. Tough penalties for employers and employees
who breach the immigration rules are of a recurring theme in this Immigration Special.

When
does the ban period start?

The ban period will start on the date an
individual left UK or, if there in the case of a 10 year ban following the use
of deception in an application, from the date of the refusal of that
application.

When
do re-entry bans not apply?

Re-entry bans do not apply to applications
made under:

▪Appendix FM (Immigration Rule
A320)

▪Appendix Armed Forces
(Immigration Rule B320)

EEA Regulations, namely applications for a
European Family Permit

Who’s
banned?

Examples of individuals facing a re-entry ban
include:

·Former students who work more
than their permitted 20 hours per week in term time

·Working holidaymakers who
exceeded their permitted 12 months in work

·Business visitors who cross the
line from business to productive work

·Anyone who overstayed their
immigration permission by more than 28 days

·Anyone who used false documents
or representations in an immigration application, or withheld material facts

Employers could therefore find that an
employee on whose skill they intended to rely is locked out of the UK for at
least a year – and, in the worst case, for ten years. Vigilance –
appropriately exercised – is needed to ensure that current employees are not in
breach, and new hires are kept within the rules.

How
will the ban be imposed?

An applicant for an entry clearance visa will
be mandatorily refused if they have used deception in an entry clearance
application within the previous ten years.

Why
is this particularly relevant to employers?

Although the employee faces the ban, there
are obvious consequences for UK employers who were relying on that person, and
for the person’s ability to perform duties under their contracts of
employment.

Beyond this however, the circumstances of the
breach may have wider implications for a UK employer.

Can
entry clearance be granted despite a re-entry ban?

Yes. Firstly, and as explained above, the
re-entry ban periods do not apply to applications under Appendix FM, Appendix
Armed Forces or the EEA Regulations.